The present invention relates to a medical or surgical bandage suitable for use in providing musculo-skeletal support and treatment of skin conditions.
Obtaining combined gel treatment and pressure therapy is not easy or convenient under present methods. Typically in the medical and veterinary fields supportive pressure therapy is provided using compression garments or wraps. When used with a gel, a person must typically apply a layer of gel to the area of the body to be treated followed by wrapping another material such as a compression garment or wrap to keep the gel in position. The materials typically used do not provide the elastic support usually desired and therefore often require many turns of the material being wrapped around a body part or many efforts to wrap it properly. Excessive wrapping of a body extremity that includes many turns of a material around the same area will typically apply too much pressure to the wrapped area. Attempting to adjust the pressure exerted by a wrap that requires many turns is difficult and may require completely unwrapping and re-wrapping the area more than once to obtain the desired pressure. Any application of a wrap that exerts too much pressure to the area will often constrict or cut off the vascular circulation to the affected area and may adversely affect the treated area. Furthermore, typical materials lose much of their elasticity after only a couple of uses.
Silicone gel materials are used in the medical field for the management of such conditions, for example, as dermal scarring, varicose veins and stasis ulcers. These silicone materials soften scar tissue and improve the cosmetic appearance of the scar tissue as well as the functional aspects of scars by reducing the constriction of scars and thereby enhancing mobility of the affected body part.
There is a need in the medical and veterinary fields to combine supportive (pressure) therapy with a gel treatment, particularly on the extremities of the body.